1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a gummy starch having a gummy property and a method for preparation of the same by changing a property of the starch.
2. Description of the Related Art
As gummy substances, guar gum, locust bean gum, tamarind seed gum, tare gum, acacia gum, gum Arabic, tragacanth gum, karaya gum and the like have been known in the art.
Particularly, gum Arabic is superior in fat dispersibility such that a stable emulsion is obtainable in the presence of various food materials. For this reason, gum Arabic has been widely available in producing various foods. Recently, however, it is more difficult to obtain gum Arabic due to lack of raw material thereof and it has therefore become expensive. Accordingly, the use of gum Arabic for foods has become more difficult.
Use of a starch system as a substitute has been considered as starch systems are readily available at a low cost. A first example is roasted dextrin. The roasted dextrin may prepared by subjecting powdered starches to a heat treatment in the temperature range from 110.degree. C. to 220.degree. C. in the presence of or the absence of catalyst. There are, for example, British gum produced with no acid or by adding alkali additive and roasting, and a white or yellow dextrin produced by adding a small mount of mineral acid and a heat treatment. The roasted dextrin is soluble in cold water and has a strong stickiness.
British gum has a similar property to the gum Arabic and thus is superior in emulsifying stability and adhesive properties. Thus, British gum may be used as an industrial emulsifying stabilizing agent or a binder in place of or in partial replacement of the gum Arabic. Further there are decomposed starches, pre-gelatinized starches, oxidized starches, a starch esterificated from starch derivatives and ether starch.
Recently, it has been found that chewing promotes brain activity, for which reason interest in chewing food materials has been on the increase. As described above, the starch system materials already known are not especially gummy materials as would have gummy properties such as flexibility and elasticity. Whereas a number of scientists or experts tried to make gummy materials through the change as described above, for example, by roasting the starch into various types of starch, no success therein has ever been obtained.